De Lima sacks Bucor, NBP officials over Leviste escape

JUSTICE Secretary Leila De Lima on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of five officers and personnel of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) for negligence in allowing the out-of-prison trips of homicide convict Jose Leviste in May 2011.

In a resolution dated July 11which was signed by De Lima, the DOJ found former NBP Superintendents Armando Miranda and Ramon Reyes; former NBP Minimum Security Compound officers-in-charge Dante Cruz and Robert Rabo guilty of negligence of duties.

A fact-finding panel composed of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), with State Counsel Amenda Leano-Garcia and lawyers Rafael Villanueva and Amelia Ponio as members, was ordered to investigate the matter.

“In conclusion, the resolution stressed that the actions of the respondents failed to meet the standards of prudence, caution, and attention which careful persons use in the management of their affairs,” the DOJ said.

It said that the officers allowed Leviste to leave his cell so they “should be held accountable for their acts and omissions.”

The former Batagas governor was convicted of killing his employee, Rafael delas Alas, in 2007.

While in prison, Leviste was able get out of the national penitentiary without any authorization from higher authorities. He was arrested on May 8, 2011 in Makati City.